You Say "Potato," I Say "Deruny"

Ahh, the fabulous деруни (pronounced "deruny), or simple Ukrainian potato pancakes. These babies are usually served as a main when no meat is served (which, I gotta say, is rare here!), but they are often served as sides as well. Talk about easy (like, 100 times faster to make than when I made borscht), deruny only require a few ingredients (potatoes, onion, egg, flour, and сметана, or sour cream) and a little bit of prep before frying away to your heart's content!

Originally, the potatoes and onion are supposed to be shredded into a fine pulp, but the "star-side" of my grater was infinitely rusted and probably had one too many tales to tell if it could, so I opted for the chunkier shredded solution. Still tasty, but I prefer how they're traditionally prepared, so a new grater for me is in the near future (yes, it really IS this glamorous living and working abroad)!

I love a culture that loves its heavy and soured creams! And I love deruny. It's a win-win all around here, folks!

For a pretty good recipe on making deruny (and other awesome Ukrainian dishes), head here.

Puttin' On My Borscht Belt

I've been told that a hot, steamy bowl of borscht (or a cold version of it for the summertime) is the heart and soul of Ukrainian cooking and home-life (By the way, yes, borscht is originally Ukrainian). As I have of yet to eat a bad helping of borscht here in Ukraine (I love the stuff!), I decided to venture out and attempt to make a big batch of it on my own! When in Ukraine, right?

I began my borscht-making endeavor the same way any cook in Ukraine would, with a trip to the local outdoor market! Here, the outdoor market is the place to go for fresh, organic fruits and veggies usually from the seller's garden; the supermarkets' produce pales in comparison. Besides that, speaking with the babshukas about quantities and prices is good practice for my Russian! Once you have all of your ingredients, it's really a matter of cutting, chopping, peeling, boiling, and simmering!

And that's how I went from this:

...to this:

...and finally, to this! Traditionally, borscht is usually served with a big helping of сметана (Smetana), which is similar to soured cream:

And because I got a little overzealous and bought way too much produce at the market, I will now be feasting on borscht for both lunch and dinner ALL this week! I guess a little healthy, hearty soup eating now that the days are getting quite chilly will do me just fine. приыатного аппетита!